Quote: (09-29-2014 11:03 AM)Hambone10 Wrote: (09-28-2014 08:57 PM)UCF08 Wrote: Fair point. But I think the data shows a significant rise in minimum wage is long overdue.
[quote='UCF08' pid='11180695' dateline='1411995045']
First of all, the exact same argument could be used against any minimum wage whatsoever, and given the long history it has had without being turned into simply voting yourself raises, your concerns are invalid on that aspect.
As for your claim of the large effects it will have on inflation, you don't seem to realize just how little it actually is. Per this study done by the USDA on agricultural costs, the raises in costs from the 1992 and 1997 minimum wage increases were less than half of a percent, with the greatest rise in cost being .9%, and most under .3%.
You're literally arguing for the continued subsidization of workers through welfare and assistance programs instead of forcing employers to bear the burden of their own workers.
I was going to ask 'what studies' and then it seems you at least partially answered.
Let me point out the ONLY study in a remotely open economy that matters with regard to what people should pay for minimum wage workers, and that is the unemployment rate (yes, adjusted for the labor participation rate).... the number of people out there looking for jobs.
If you want to raise the minimum wage, you don't bring in arbitrary time studies showing how the rate has changed over time or analysis about how increases in wages impact prices... these are all artificial and have absolutely nothing to do with the supply of and demand for labor.
If you artificially raise the cost of labor too much, industry will find a way to avoid using labor... either it will be sourced to equipment or it will result in the creation of 'low service' alternatives like self-serve gas stations, check-outs and even ordering. You go from 3 employees at $10 to 2 employees at $15. Your studies show that costs remained unchanged so some will argue that it doesn't hurt wages to have a 50% rise in wages... until you realize that employment was cut by 50%.
EMPLOYMENT is the key, even more-so than education. In many ways, we already have far too much education and far too little employment.
There isn't compelling evidence that this actually occurs, though.
Per
AP
Quote: "In the 13 states that boosted their minimums at the beginning of the year, the number of jobs grew an average of 0.85 percent from January through June. The average for the other 37 states was 0.61 percent.
"Nine of the 13 states increased their minimum wages automatically in line with inflation: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. Four more states — Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island — approved legislation mandating the increases."
Per the
American Economic Review
Contrary to the central prediction of the
textbook model of the minimum wage, but
consistent with a number of recent studies
based on cross-sectional time-series comparisons
of affected and unaffected markets
or employers,
we find no evidence that the
rise in New Jersey's minimum wage reduced
employment at fast-food restaurants in the
state. Regardless of whether we compare
stores in New Jersey that were affected by
the $5.05 minimum to stores in eastern
Pennsylvania (where the minimum wage was
constant at $4.25 per hour) or to stores in
New Jersey that were initially paying $5.00
per hour or more (and were largely unaffected
by the new law), we find that the
increase in the minimum wage increased
employment. We present a wide variety of
alternative specifications to probe the robustness
of this conclusion. None of the
alternatives shows a negative employment
effect. We also check our findings for the
fast-food industry by comparing changes in
teenage employment rates in New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, and New York in the year
following the increase in the minimum wage.
Again, these results point toward a relative
increase in employment of low-wage workers
in New Jersey.
We also find no evidence
that minimum-wage increases negatively
affect the number of McDonald's outlets
opened in a state.
This image pretty much tells you everything you need to know.
![[Image: Minimum%20Wage%20Increases%20Effects.png]](http://cdn.thefiscaltimes.com/cdn/farfuture/syXDDQOXKF131W47BQTk_vgAOAMfkqRHGFT670sD5Ik/mtime:1392953284/sites/default/files/media/Minimum%20Wage%20Increases%20Effects.png)
That's a graphical representation of over 1,400 different studies on this same issue. The x-axis being the effect on employments, with the Y being the strength of the study. The claim that it will affect employment in any meaningful way isn't backed by the overwhelming majority of evidence.
